Face To The Floor
by Intern of SHIELD
Summary: The Leverage team and Jim Sterling have to team up  no matter how much they don't want to  to keep from a ghost destroying their lives. And a new team member never hurts right, not even a minor.
1. Chapter 1

Nikola climbed out of the shower drying her black hair before shaking it dry and wrapping the towel around her scrawny tan body. The sound of a vehicle driving over the gravel of the house she was squating at filled her ears. The 17-year-old hurried and dressed in a black tanktop, white sports bra, blue camo men's boxers, and a pair of black MMA shorts before pulling her hair (which was mostly long bangs) back with a black hairtie. Nikola rushed down the stairs and into the main room where a man with sandy blond hair, dressed in a navy blue Armani suit standing in the middle of the nice rustic style kitchen that the family who lived here had decorated.  
>"Wisor," she greated, pulling a bag of M&amp;Ms she'd stashed in the freezer and opening it with her teeth. "What's Moreau want this time?"<br>He handed her an enevlope, that looked very professional to be honest. On the front in neat cursive handwriting was her name, Nikola Hawkings. She slid her finger in the gap and ripped down the side before sliding the paper out and unfolding it. The teen scanned the page and her eyes grew wide at the names. Valda, Jake, Booth, Ford, Eurydice, and Lindsey. "He's gotta be going insane in that jail cell! James Sterling _and_ the Leverage team? I couldn't even hack Sterling's company without nearly being caught! What makes him think I'll be able to screw both him and the fucking Leverage team over at the same time?" She yelled. "Even if I could no way I'm settling for 30 and a collage fund alone."  
>Wisor waitied until she had calmed down before speaking, "That was just his starting deal."<br>"130, and an eight year collage fund enough for board and the school," Nikola replied.  
>"120, a seven year collage fund, and your dad," Wisor retorted. Nikola stopped in her tracks, her mouth hanging open with another offer on the tip of her tongue. "Deal."<br>Wisor nodded, "All the info you need is on that paper. You'll have to do the rest of the work yourself."  
>The man walked out of the house, leaving Nikola to go back into the room she was using and call her 'friend'. "Celthe, I have another job."<p> 


	2. Chapter 2: The Cop Job

**Sorry Nate's probably gonna be OOC, and shout out to my sister, EmoPirateRiot for allowing me to 'borrow' her last name. And I really don't care that I didn't get Peoria's mayor's name right, I don't live in that county.**

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><p>"Woah, you're a knock out," Celthe gaped as she took a step back to admire her work. "Sure you could probably lose a few pounds but stunning none the less." Nikola turned around to see herself dressed in a strapless purple and black dress, the top being black and the skirt purple, a black waist band brought it in under her chest and cloth fell to either side. Nikola couldn't tell you what brand it was without help, nor did she care about the useless facts that Celthe had been spitting at her for the last six fucking hours while they shopped and Celthe worked her magic at changing Nikola's apperance.<br>Her skin was fair, and you could defently tell a difference if she were to expose the skin that she didn't need covered. Nikola's hair (well it was a wig) was a dark red and curly with the bangs pulled back in a ponytail while the sides fell to her shoulders. Her feet were adorn with golden Greek Goddess sandles from Nikola's friend Lillith's Halloween costume the year before. Replacing her gray blue eyes were green colored contacts, and her cheekbones were no longer that high from her Indian heritage.  
>"I can't wait for this to be over so I can get back into my skin," Nikola complained.<br>Celthe handed her a purple clutch before questioning, "Ok so who did I just create?"  
>"Debra McLean," Nikola replied, adding an Irish accent to her voice and raising it to a high E flat. "Daughter of Tyler McLean, bar owner over in Ireland."<br>"Scam?"  
>"Not a scam, I'm also helping out some friends in Illinois," Nikola replied. "My friend's daughter was killed by a supporter of the mayor over there, and they kinda blew it off as a suicide, though three reliable witnesses saw. Didn't call any of them to the stand, and fucked the family out of eight thousand dollars. That should give me a good idea of how good they are. And the cops who screwed over the family accutally end in justice."<br>Celthe pulled out gold pencil eyeliner and motioned for Nikola to look up. "So what's Moneau paying you this time?"  
>"One-hundred twenty thousand dollars, a seven year collage fund with both boarding and the accutal school," Nikola replied. Then she grew silent for a few seconds. "And my dad."<br>Celthe rolled her eyes, "Doesn't he offer you that everytime?"  
>Nikola slightly shook her head, "No, this is his first time offering up that. I think he's desprate because he knows as soon as I find my dad, I'm out. Auf widersehen, goodbye, comiat, khoroshíí yezdil, näkemiin, and goed gereden." Nikola put the clutch down and slid the Sterling Silver coiled Minoan snake bracelet onto her left wrist, then Lillith's Meander Necklace With an Owl Of Wisdom coin in the middle. "Mind giving me a lift? I have to drop off my stuff at Lillith's and call up John before I head in."<br>"Sure Deb," Celthe replied.

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><p>Nikola walked to the bar, stepping in. Nate was sitting at the bar, the others either not there or not in that room. "Nathan Ford?" She asked, still using 'Debra's' voice. A man with curly ash brown hair greeted her. "Can I get you and your team to help me with something?"<br>The two sat down at an oaken table. "What do you need help with..." Nate started trailing off waiting for her to fill in the blanks.  
>"Debra McLean," Nikola filled in, crossing her legs and making the purple skirt ride up a bit. It annoyed her to hell but she had more important matters to attend to at that particular moment. "And this is what I need help with." She opened the clutch and pulled out a newspaper clipping along with a colored photo of a nine year old girl with curled golden-blond hair that reached her shoulders, fair skin, bright green eyes, dressed in a purple t-shirt and jeans, grinning, with her two front teeth missing. She was sitting next to her older brother, his black hair, tanner skin, and black hoodie looked outta place next to the young girl, his sister. Nikola slid the picture and paper clipping over to Nate. "My friend's, Connor Wilson's, daughter was killed by a man three months ago, at the age of ten. The man was a major supporter of the mayor, so cops brushed it off as a suicide. Three reliable witnesses, six in all, none of them were brought to the stand during the trial when they took the guy to court. It screwed my friend and his family out eight thousand, and the guy's still fucking out there. The mayor's not gonna do shit, and I really do not want these damn cops to get away with this."<br>Nikola continued, "Look at that picture. That girl was taken from her life longer before she should have been. Her family was fucked over and already is having a hard time just paying for her funeral. I've heard about what happened to your son, so please Mr. Ford, don't let her be one of the children who don't get justice for their deaths." Nathan looked up at her and Nikola knew that she'd gotten them, hook, line, and sinker.

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><p>Nikola picked up the Peoria Journal Star, reading the headline as she sipped her coffee. <strong>Peoria Police Confess that 10-Year-Old Girl's Death Was Murder and Not Suicide<strong>. To the side was: **Mayor Tyan Embaressed of Cover-Up**. Someone sat down across from her as she read. "Thank you Nikola," a male voice told her. Nikola looked over her paper, gray-blue eyes looking at a black haired male around her age who was sitting across from her.  
>"How'd you know I'd be here?" She questioned him, taking another sip of her coffee.<br>Cody shrugged, "Hunch. But thanks for getting us peace and Astell justice."  
>"No problem," Nikola replied, looking over to see Eliot staring at them.<p> 


	3. Chapter 3: The New Year's Job

Lillith handed Nikola a pair of red high heals. Nikola stared at her like she just sugessted killing a baby, "Hell no, I'll kill myself if I wear those. I won't even be able to get a step without breaking my ankle. And how am I gonna ride my bike there, you can't run a motorcycle in heals."  
>"Stop being such a baby Nikola," Celthe told her. "Those aren't so bad, they're only five inches."<br>Nikola freaked out. "_Only_ five inches? I can't even walk in _Converse_ for the love of Hermes, you think I'll be able to walk in _five inch heels_," Nikola hyperventilated. There was a hot pain on her ear that made her flinch away from Celthe. "Ow."  
>"That's what you get, now stay still so I can finish your hair," the older woman scolded. Nikola mocked her under her breath, earning her a slap on her burned ear. "Don't back sass me girly. You'd be screwed without me to do all your make up for grifting, I could have a job in Hollywood that could pay me a lot more then you do. Be grateful I'm doing this for you."<br>"Sorry Celthe," Nikola replied as Celthe rolled another curl into her black hair. She looked over at the black dress hanging on the door. "I'm going to have the highlights right?"  
>Lillith held up two of the blue curled clip-ins putting them up against her golden blond hair. "I'm thinking of stealing these for myself," she told her friend.<br>Nikola laughed, "You do, you die. I paid a lot of money for those."  
>The blond scoffed, "You didn't spend a cent, I was with you when you stole these, remember. You stole that dress too, and the cat for me. Simese, two years old, little bastard." Nikola flipped her off from her seat, ajusting the black strapless bra that was covering her with her other hand.<br>"Still you take those, I will know, and you will die," Nikola warned her. Lillith rolled her eyes and handed Celthe the synthetic highlights. The older female clipped them on either side of Nikola's face and placed the other three in random spots. "Ok, look up," Celthe commanded. Nikola's eyes flickered up, and Celthe started to do her make-up. "So tell us, what is the mark, and what are you doing exactly?"  
>Nikola absently scratched her back. "Mark's name is Tyler Morrison, you know <em>the<em> Tyler Morrison, from Hart & Hart. He's cheating on his wife, and three mistresses, with any attractive female close to the age of eighteen. I'm going to, well, be a victim. Hopefully, if everything goes smoothly, I'll be 'saved' by Eliot, but insted kick Morrison's ass and get him arrested."  
>"Sure this is a good idea Nikky?" Lillth questioned.<br>"I'm not defenseless," Nikola told her. "Plus some nice brusies that Celthe puts on me will do some help with the cops." Lillith looked at the fake brusies on Nikola's collarbone, right thigh, and forehead, which was covered by her hair. All were dark purple, and if they were real would hurt like a bitch. "Hopefully I don't get any real ones." Celthe capped the lipstick, "Done, now go get dressed and don't ruin my work."  
>Nikola stood up, grabbing the black dress before walking into the bathroom and locking the door. The 17 year old took the dress off of the hanger and stepped into it. She then took the Hellenistic coiled snake silver armband off the sink counter and slid it up her right arm. Finally she put on a black leather necklace with a bronze coin hanging from it. Unlike the other 'Greek' things she wore, this coin came from a Greek temple and was fordged in the 13th century B.C. On it was a expression of Hades' head, wearing his Helm of Darkness. She stepped out into the room and could hear the other two girls become awestruck. "Well, how slutty do I look?" Nikola questioned. "Angels couldn't compair to you," Celthe told her. Nikola walked over to the full body mirror in Celthe's living room. The black dress showed off her tattoos, including the one on her left side, which was only slightly obscured by the lace.<br>"Hurry girly you better get going," Lillith shooed her, handing her the high heels and a black motocycle helmet. "Better be home by two." "I will," Nikola told her as she headed down the stair railing.  
>At the bottom she landed on her bare feet, then ran to the parking garage of Celthe's apartment building. She slipped the helmet over her head, strapping the helmet on and hopping on her black Kawasaki Vulcan 1700 Vaquero. She kick-started it and took off out of the building into the cold New Year's Eve night.<p>

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><p>The cop inpected the fake brusies on Nikola's face. "How old are you?" the Asian woman questioned.<br>"Seventeen," Nikola answered.  
>The cop tilted her head to the side, "What are you doing at a party like this then?"<br>"I'm with my dad," Nikola lied, pointing to Eliot. With her other hand she gave him a roll with it sign. "I'm his 'date' for tonight."  
>Eliot walked over to the pair, wrapping his arm around her shoulders, "Yeah, she sure knows how to stir up trouble," Eliot said. "Just like her mother."<br>Nikola nearly laughed at how right he acctually was, but kept it in. "Why didn't you bring her mother insted?" The woman asked.  
>Eliot and Nikola looked down for a second, as if they had planned it. "Her mother left us when she was 6 months old," Eliot lied and took Nikola's fake ID from her hand. He glanced at it before returning it to her. "Just Maria and I now."<br>"I'm sorry," the cop said sympathically before leaving them with the other police that had shown when someone called 911 and reported assult.  
>Nikola turned to Eliot, "Thanks for helping me there."<br>"You're welcome," Eliot replied. Nikola looked at the clock and cussed taking off the high heels and running for the front door.  
>She slipped the helmet on and drove out of the parking lot on her bike.<p> 


	4. Chapter 4: The Brooklyn Job

**Arg, Nate's so OOC in the chapter it's killing me.**

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><p><strong>January 5th, 2012<br>Brooklyn, New York**

Nikola dodged a bullet flying over her head. _Shit, shit, shit,_ she thought looking around for somewhere to hide. The black haired girl ducked into an ally, jumping up onto a fire escape from the ajacent building. She hurried and climbed to the roof, making so much noise she doubted that the goons hadn't heard where she went. Nikola sprinted across the roof, jumping across to the building across the street, which was thankfully small, though it didn't help her. She barely managed to grab the ledge, her fingers slowly slipping across the concrete. "Shit." She looked down, gulping and looking back up, trying to maintain her bladder control. She'd always been terrifed of heights, and clowns, also very large spiders and various other insects. Her feet frantically scrapped against the bricks, searching desprately for somewhere to help push her up. "Help!" She yelled, off hand someone just _happen_ to be on that roof who could pull her up.  
>Nikola didn't believe in good luck, at least that she would never have any. Well it was her lucky day, kinda.<br>Two hands wrapped around her biceps, pulling her up like nothing. Nikola collasped onto the roof, shaking violently and thanking her gods that she was alive. She then looked up at the man who had saved her. "Miara?" Eliot questioned.  
>Nikola nodded shakily. "Y-Yeah?" She stuttered, her heart thudding against her ribs.<br>"My boss wants to talk to you," Eliot told her. She nodded again, still trying to get her breathing under control. "Put your head between your knees, it helps." Nikola did just that, her breathing evening out as the adrenaline subsided. She stood up on shakey legs, following Eliot down the stairs and into a black Dodge Challenger. She sat in the back seat, dispite knowing that Eliot was most likely not going to hurt her.  
>Around the time they passed out of Manhatten Nikola got the feeling it was going to be a long ass drive. "Where are we going?" She asked him in a small voice.<br>"Boston," he replied, looking at her in the rear view mirror. "So is your name really Miara? Or are you a grifter?"  
>"It's Miara Winchester, like my licence said," she lied. "But I am a grifter too. And a thief, pretty good hacker, and if you didn't notice I took down a few of those goons." Eliot smirked a little bit as he stared out the front window. Nikola rooted around in her black messanger bag, looking for her iPod. Her hand slid over the file that the team needed and she would give them, and grabbed the black iPod touch, turning it on as she pulled it out. Nikola put the black earbuds in her ear and curled up on the back seat, falling asleep.<p>

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><p>Eliot and Nikola walked into the James McRory's Place the next morning. They'd stopped at a motel around midnight and gotten into Boston around 10 a.m. "Eliot," Hardison yelled from the back room. The two stepped in and the rest of the team went slient.<br>"You have a daughter Eliot?" Parker asked, breaking the slience. Both Nikola and Eliot looked over at Parker, same exact expression on their faces.  
>"Where's the girl?" Nate asked.<br>"No, I don't Parker, this is Miara, the girl who pretty much saved our asses," Eliot told them.

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><p>Nikola looked at Nate from across the table. "Not a good thief?" She scoffed, opening up her bag and pulling out the file. "Couldn't find this file in Brooklyn could you? Because I'd stolen it three minutes earlier."<br>"What do you want?" Nate questioned her.  
>"A spot, on the team for the file," Nikola replied. "I'm a hacker, grifter, thief, I can do pretty much anything you need me to do."<br>Nate nodded, "Deal." Nikola slid the file across the wooden table. "Welcome to Leverage Consulting and Associated."


	5. Chapter 5: The Cheat Job

Nikola sat across from the man dressed in a black suit, setting her cellphone on the stone table next to the chest set. She smirked when she looked at the set. "Ya know my cousin's chess set should go to her realitves," she told the older man, moving the first pawn, which was in the shape a hound.  
>"The very few relatives of hers that are still alive, you mean?" Sterling replied. "Your cousin was something, not unlike yourself." Nikola nodded, moving another pawn as she listened to James Sterling talk about her mother as if they were old friends, which they had been, though they had a falling out a few years before Nikola was born, so he knew nothing of her, giving Nikola the chance to scam him as well. "So you're working for Ford now?"<br>"Yes, I am Sterling, and that's why I'm here, because once you called he thought it best that someone possibly be able to acheive your good side, which thankfully I had already done, years ago," Nikola retorted, her voice slowly gaining an Irish/Austiralian/British accent, which it usually did when talking to her, pretty much uncle. It was the accent she was born with, but she didn't really use most of the time. "So, why did you call Nathan Ford?" Nikola questioned, raising an eye brow as he moved a knight.  
>"Why are you working for him?" Sterling countered. Nikola just shrugged. "I'm being screwed over by a ghost. Last week a hacker gained access to my accounts and almost caused me to become bankrupt. No one could find a trace of who it was."<br>"Fun," Nikola replied, scanning over the board before moving a rook, which she assummed was suppose to be Cerberus.  
>Nikola didn't bother looking at the board to know she was ahead. "So, you planning a con on them? Because I know you and you don't work with teams."<br>Nikola picked up her phone, tucking it back into her hoodie pocket. "Well Sterling, one thing about me you should know," she told him, standing up before grabbing the rook and illegally moving it, knocking over Sterling's king. "Much like my cousin, I tend to cheat. Checkmate." She strolled away from the Brit, who was smirking.


End file.
